Happy Holidays: The Hodgela Wedding Edition
by nekkidboothinc
Summary: Wedding madness descends on the Jeffersonian. Will Booth and Brennan survive with their sanity and their own wedding plans still intact? Twelfth in the Happy Holidays series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Dum-dum-da-dum, dum-dum-da-dum, dum-dum-da-dum-da-da-dum-da-dum. Welcome to the wedding of Angela and Hodgins! Bride's side or groom's?**

* * *

"I need to borrow your kid."

"Excuse me?"

"Parker. I need to borrow him."

"Ange, Parker isn't really mine to loan out."

"What_ever_, Brennan. I am in a serious bind here."

"Did you talk to Booth?"

"Noooooo, I haven't _seen_ Booth. I am _here._ With _you._ Now are you going to loan me your kid or not?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on? And why are we renting Parker out?" Booth swooped into his fiancée's office and stood between her and her best friend.

Angela sighed dramatically. "The little boy I nannied for a few summers ago? Tyler? He's got the chicken pox, so he can't be our ring bearer for the wedding. I NEED A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD. YOU GUYS HAVE ONE. GIVE HIM TO ME."

"Okay, bridezilla. Relax. I will ask Park if he wants to do a big big favor for his favorite Angela in the whole wide world. But if he says no, will it be okay? Or are we going to need to have you committed?" Booth teased.

Angela sighed again, this time a little less dramatically, a little more relieved. "Thank you. Yes, I will be fine. But it _is_ really important to me that this be perfect and there not be any drama like with the last one."

"Ange I highly doubt not having a ring bearer is comparable to--" Brennan began but Booth interrupted before she could send Angela back into hysterics.

"I know. It'll be okay. I'm sure Parker will be fine with it once we explain how important it is to you. And swear to him that he can put his jeans on _immediately_ following the ceremony."

"Of course!" Ange promised. "Tell him there's a corner piece of cake with as much frosting as he can handle with his name on it if he'll help me out."

"We'll be sure to mention that. Sugar is always a good bribe with Parker," Booth winked.

"Whew. I feel better already," Angela smiled brightly, Bridezilla gone and the fun-loving artist they knew returning in her place. At least temporarily. "So." Her grin brightened. "You two set a date yet?"

--

Booth had known Angela Montenegro for a good few years now, and it was safe to say that she was one of the sweetest, most laid-back people he ever met. It concerned him that the mere thought of a missing wedding attendant got her high-strung enough to potentially be brought up on kidnapping charges. It was a little bit of relief to escape the aura of panicked wedding-ness that she was exuding.

So he thought.

"Hey, man," he greeted his favorite bug and slime guy, who was hunched over his computer in his office. "You might want to check on your fiancée at some point. She might need some treatment for wedding fever."

The blue eyes that looked up at him wildly when Hodgins' chair spun around almost made him take a step backward. "Well, _yeah, _dude. This thing is two weeks away. You know how much we have to do in two weeks?"

"Well, I…" Booth was about to point out that he never in his life quite got that far in preparing for a wedding, but he wasn't allowed to continue in that train of thought.

"You have your tux yet?"

"It's at the shop. I just need to pick it up."

"So you haven't tried it on?"

"Well, no, but I gave them the right measurements and…"

"Booth! Dude! You know how much Angie will flip out if we get the pictures back, and your socks are showing because your pants are too short?"

"I wear great socks," he retorted, offended.

"Don't care. I don't want to have to photoshop pants on you."

He frowned. "Fine. I'll go try it on right after work today, okay?" End of discussion. "Hey, did you see the Phils game last night? That double-play? Was classic Thome."

"No," Jack replied distractedly, turning back to his monitor. "We had to get a few things together…do you have everything ready for the party?"

"The bachelor party? Sure. The private room at the Rathskellar, just like you wanted."

"I need you to make sure Jersits doesn't get trashed, okay? In college, it was entertaining watching him stumble around in the morning with his eyes looking like Bloody Mary's. Not so much at my wedding."

"I'm on drunk patrol, now? That doesn't sound like much fun," he said indignantly.

Hodgins swiveled around. "You know what's not fun? Having to hear for the _rest of my life _about how much my drunkard friend ruined our 8,000 dollar wedding photos by puking on his own tux."

Booth grimaced. "Okay, okay. I'll talk to him." He was starting to regret coming in here to talk to Jack. "So this stuff's pretty hardcore, huh?"

His friend laughed, an octave higher than usual. "You'll see, man. You'll see," he said ominously.

"Yeah, whatever," he said impatiently, now anxious just to get out of here. There was no way _his _wedding was going to cause this much commotion. Bones didn't get all worked up over big events like this. Although, he remembered a certain Father's Day barbeque not so long ago where Bones wasn't quite the cool, collected woman he was used to…He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I think I'll leave you to…whatever you are doing."

"'Kay. I'm mapping out the radar for the big day," Jack said, turning to the multi-colored blobs on his computer screen. "So far, 20 percent chance of rain."

"That's good, right?"

"Did you hear what they are talking about doing for the Olympics? Shooting dry ice right up into the sky. No rain, perfect gaming weather."

Booth paused. "You wouldn't really…"

"It's our BIG DAY," Jack said, as if it explained everything.

"Ooooookay." Booth back out of the office. "See ya."

A glance over near Bones' office evidenced Angela thrusting fabric swatches at his own bride-to-be, while she looked on doubtfully. He made a beeline for the exit.

Weddings made people weird.

--

After they'd assured Angela they fully intended on getting married the twenty-fifth of October, Booth had left Brennan alone with Bridezilla. She wasn't a hundred percent sure what that meant, but she had some recollection of Russ making her then 9-year-old self watch a movie about a monster who was supposed to be a cross between a whale and a gorilla taking out Tokyo. She had a feeling the moniker was derivative of the monster.

"Bren, are you even listening to me?"

"Yes. Of course. Satin. Taffeta. The merits of each. Please, continue."

"I _asked_ _you _if you wanted to go with Custom Cakes and Confections or Creative Cakes for the cake."

"Oh. Right. Um, Creative. I ordered it this morning, actually. Four layers, two chocolate, two vanilla. Raspberry filling. Booth's cake is going to be carrot."

"Brennan. Groom's cake is supposed to be chocolate with chocolate frosting."

Brennan shrugged. When the hell had Angela become such a stodgy traditionalist? "Booth likes carrot. It's his favorite."

"You know, you're being very nonchalant about this, Brennan."

"I'm sorry, Angela, it just doesn't seem like anything to get worked up about. I made a list of everything I needed to do, and I'm doing it. What's the big deal?"

"Let me get this straight. A month ago, you were freaking out about throwing the perfect barbeque to show your fiancé you thought he was the father of the year, but now, planning your _wedding, the single most important day of your life, _you're having a _carrot_ groom's cake?"

Good-bye, Ange. Welcome back, Bridezilla.

"Ange, look." Brennan put down the file she'd been going over and rounded her desk to sit next to Angela on the couch. "Booth and I have talked about it. And we both know that we're going to hit roadblocks. And that it might not be easy to get around them. With wedding planning _and marriage_. But all that matters is that I'm marrying an incredible man, and that even if we aren't perfect, we complement each other perfectly." She shrugged and smiled.

"Okay Captain Sappy. Where'd you come from and what did you do with my best friend?"

Brennan sighed and flopped against the back of the couch. Sometimes trying to reason with Angela made her want to scream. "Do you love Jack?" she asked, almost more as a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?"

"Yes."

"Then isn't it more about the _marriage_ than the _wedding_? Do you think at your fiftieth anniversary party people are going to say 'oh that was a lovely ceremony, but do you remember how they had carrot instead of chocolate for the groom's cake? I mean _really._'"

Angela was biting her lip to keep from smiling, but apparently couldn't hold back her laughter anymore as she burst into a fit of giggles.

Brennan gave her friend's hand a gentle squeeze. "But I'll still talk to Parker for you."

Angela's smile brightened. "Thanks, Bren."

"You're welcome. Anything else I can do?"

"Did you get your bridesmaid dress?"

"Altered and hanging in my closet."

"The flowers?"

"Will be delivered Saturday morning."

"And the table decorations for the reception?"

"Sitting in boxes in my living room. Oh, but those glass bowls haven't gotten here yet. I called this morning and apparently they shipped this morning."

Angela nodded. "Okay. Okay, I think we can do this. I think I'm ready to get--"

Brennan interrupted. "To have a wedding. You've been ready to marry Jack for a long time now."

"Have I ever told you you put the _best_ in best friend?"

Brennan grinned. "Okay, Captain Sappy."

--


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: You remember this story, everyones? Yes, is still happening. Sorry so slow. We still loves you.**

**--**

A whole workday had passed, and he was still feeling tightly wound from his experience with his wedding obsessed friends. He had called Bones earlier, and she listened sympathetically when he told her of his stress. She had told him to come over tonight to her apartment: They'd spend a relaxing evening together, no wedding-talk allowed. It sounded like just what the doctor ordered.

He let himself into her apartment with his key, knowing it was unlikely that she'd be back from work herself yet. It would be good for him to have a beer and get started making dinner and start to unwind before Bones got…_what the hell was all this crap?_

Her usually impeccable living room was filled wall-to-wall with boxes. Was she _moving? _Cautiously, he toed one of the boxes, and pulled up one of the flaps. Immediately he was treated to the sight of hundreds of candles and pink flowers. _Of course. Wedding stuff. _It wasn't enough for a wedding to take over his friend's lives. It also had to take over his fiancee's apartment.

Scowling, he maneuvered his way through the box-maze to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, he almost expected a wedding cake to pop out at him. Thankfully, all that was there was Bones' trademark selection of produce, and a 6-pack of beer for him. He took hold of one of the bottles gratefully, popping the top and taking a large swig. That was better.

His phone rang; hopefully, Bones saying that she was on way. Maybe he could talk her into going out to eat, so they didn't have to be surrounded by all these reminders of The Big Frigging Day. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"Hey Mom."

"How's my favorite groom-to-beeeeee?"

He grimaced. "One wedding at a time, please. Our friends are getting hitched in 2 weeks, and everyone's in a frenzy."

Emily's voice was soothing. "Well don't let that take your focus off what is really important."

"I'm not," he promised, taking another swallow of beer. "What can I do for you?"

"I need your guest list."

He frowned. "Already? Why?"

His mother's voice took on a tone he knew well: the "don't question me" variety. "Because Marisa and I are planning a shower for Temperance."

"And you are inviting _everyone who's coming to the wedding?!" _he exclaimed, nearly choking on his beer.

"_No. _Silly. But we can't invite anybody who's _not _on the guest list. That's just bad etiquette."

He sighed. The list was almost complete, but needed some fine-tuning.

"Also, I'll need you to find some way to get her here on the day of the shower. Without giving away the surprise."

"Why does it have to be a surprise?" he asked.

The "don't question me" tone was back in full-force. "Seeley. Do you want to ruin the fun of this day for your future wife?"

"Of course not. But I hardly think that…"

"Then please just do this, okay? You can email me the guest list."

He rubbed at his forehead helplessly. "Fine. Yeah, fine. Email. Surprise. Got it."

"Thank you, Sweetie!" The sing-song, pleasant tone was back. "You have a good evening, okay? Remember to relax!"

"Yeah. Right." He hung up the phone, and eyed the almost empty beer in his hands, wondering if Bones would be annoyed if he finished off the whole pack before she even arrived.

There was a knock on the door, and for a second he was just relieved that his fiancée was here, and they could just go and have a nice meal and abandon this craziness, just for a little while. He didn't stop to wonder why she'd be knocking on the door to her own apartment.

When he threw open the door, he was greeted not with the sight of his favorite anthropologist, but a surly-looking man in a brown outfit. "Sign here, please." It was only then he noticed the stacks of boxes behind him.

"What's all that?" he asked, flummoxed.

The man sighed. "I don't pack 'em, I just deliver 'em." He glanced over at the label on the packages. "Says they're from Wedding World. And they're fragile. You gonna sign or not?"

More wedding stuff. He took the clipboard and signed. "I'll give you a big tip if you tell me just where in the hell I'm gonna put these," he grumbled.

The delivery guy shrugged. "Don't ask me, man. There's a reason I never got married. A _good _one."

"Thanks for your help," Booth half-sneered, as the man pushed in the dolly and stacked the boxes by the doorway.

"You have fun with all that," he called as he left.

Booth stood in the open doorway, surveying the situation. There were boxes as far as the eye could see in Bones' apartment. When he had thought about marriage before, the only thing that had entered his mind was the thought of waking up with the woman he loved, every morning. Apparently, there was a hell of a lot more to it than that. A lot more, that turned usually-sane people into blathering, arbitrary-rule-following, box-hoarding crazy people.

He didn't even hear Bones come in the door behind him until he heard her comment brightly, "Oh good, the glass bowls came! Now Angela won't eviscerate me!"

Turning slowly, he met his fiancee's eyes with his own wide, slightly crazed ones.

"Ithinkweshouldpostponethewedding," he blurted out.

--

Temperance Brennan had never considered the thought that she'd become schizophrenic at 30, but there was certainly no other explanation for what she'd heard other than that she was hearing voices. Her fiancé had _not_ just told her he thought they should postpone their wedding.

Crossing her arms and cocking her head questioningly, she regarded Booth curiously. "Booth, I had a long day at work, okay? I need a little bit of some downtime here before I try to decipher your brand of humor." She threw her purse on the couch (one of the few spots that was box-free).

"No…Bones…" He was following her, practically wringing his hands. "It's just…so much…and I don't think…I mean, it's not _really _so important that we get married so quickly, is it?"

Now she considered the alterative possibility that _Booth _may have some sort of mental illness, or perhaps a brain injury. After all, this was the man who had put his whole heart and soul into trying to convince her that marriage wasn't the archaic, unneeded, anti-feminist ritual that she had once thought it to be. He had accomplished the impossible task of making her believe that it would be something good for them, something she could not only tolerate, but embrace. And _now _he wanted to _postpone _it? She sat cautiously, patting the spot on the sofa beside her and trying to remember an article she read once about how to deal with delusional people. "Okaaaaay," she drew out. "I'm hearing you say…that you aren't ready for our wedding." She paused. "Is there any particular reason why?" Suddenly, she remembered him telling her how marriage was all about love to him…nothing more or less. Now she felt alarmed. "Don't you _love _me anymore?"

His face looked both horrified and panicked. "_No! _I mean, of _course _I still love you."

Well thank God for that. Thus relieved, now she was simply confused again. "Then what?"

"It's just _a lot _to do in a short period of time, and you've been so busy with Angela's wedding, that…wouldn't it be nice to have a breather? Like, just have everything be _normal _for awhile?" The 'normal' had an edge of desperation to it.

Annoyance began to creep into her. First she had to deal with Angela's irrationality, and now Booth's? What _was _this? "Seeley Booth. Against all doubts I agreed to marry you. Against all my natural tendencies, I have spent time of my life…time that I _could _have been catching up with my journals or making a dent in Limbo…choosing _wedding _cake. I am anticipating your family throwing me some sort of pre-wedding party in which I will be compelled to wear a hat made out of a paper plate and bows. A BOW HAT, Booth. ME. And I was going to do it. And now, despite ALL of that…_you've changed your mind?" _

He jumped at the shrillness of her last words. Served him right.

Collapsing beside her, he buried his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Bones. It's not that I don't want to be married to you. Being married to you tops my list of things I'd love to do. But…" He peeked through his fingers ominously. "I don't want you to go crazy."

"Me!" she exploded. "In case you've forgotten, _I _am the logical one! _You _are the one who talked me into marrying you! And now you are here trying to change your mind!"

He looked so hurt she almost felt bad. "But Bones, you don't understand. Hodgins wants to play mad scientist with the weather, Angela's Bible has become her wedding planning book, my mom and sister-in-law are planning covert operations that I'm expected to lie about, and your place has become a box factory and I just want to be _married _to you, not have one day become the pinnacle of our lives." Slumping, a miserable expression crossed his face.

Brennan shook her head in amazement. The man had faced some of the scariest situations she could possibly conceive of. And _this _was what made him finally snap? She changed tactics. "Booth," she said soothingly, scooting closer to him. "Is that what's got you so upset? The wedding? _Not _the marriage?"

He nodded pathetically.

"Hey. Remember when you told me that marriage could be whatever we wanted it to be? That we could make our own meaning out of it?"

Nodding again.

"Booth, I _promise _you…it's the same thing with the wedding. Just because everyone else is making it the most important part of this whole thing, doesn't mean _we _have to. Come on. You _know _I'd be just as happy going to the courthouse and forgetting about all the lace and cake and favors. All that is just…stuff. Everybody else can get worked up about it. We don't have to. I know _I'm _not planning to."

He looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure? Because I wouldn't have thought Ange and Jack would get this worked up about it, either. But they _are."_

She sighed. He obviously was forgetting the most obvious thing. "Look at me, Seeley. Who do you see?"

"Uh. You. Temperance Brennan."

"Yes. Temperance Brennan. Forensic anthropologist. Best-selling author. The woman who you got involved with because you had anonymous, costumed sex with her at a Halloween party."

"That's not why I got involved with you," he defended.

"Regardless. None of it has changed. Do you _really _think I'm going to lose my head over flowers? _Really?"_

He stared at her for a few moments, letting it sink in. Remembering who she was. Then…he smiled. "You're right."

She was momentarily surprised that he agreed with her so quickly, but recovered fast. "Damn right, I'm right," she sniffed. "You think I'm going to turn into a wedding-obsessed diva just because you asked me to marry you? Not even _you _are that good."

"No, I suppose not," he sighed, reaching out for her. A grin crossed his face. "Hey. But guess what I _am _good enough to do?"

"What?"

"Make you scared that I don't _looooove _you anymore."

"Did not," she said, flushing slightly.

"Did too."

"Fine. Maybe a little. Don't do it again." She whacked him against the stomach for good measure, just a little harder than she intended. "Besides, _you _were the one who said no wedding talk tonight. Then you went all weird."

"Sorry. A temporary case of wedding fever," he said solemnly, before he brightened. "Oh. Guess what else I'm good at?"

She caught his meaning immediately. "I'm pretty sure there are no boxes on the bed," she breathed, grabbing his hand and leading him to at least one spot in her place where they were always, one hundred percent themselves.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:  Hellooooo strangers!  It's about _time _this story was completed, yes?  Yes.**

**There have been changes going on in the NBI universe which have slooooowed things down a bit.  For one...Jamie got married!  Yay!  Surprisingly, planning one's OWN wedding takes lots of time away from writing that of fictional characters.'  Who knew?**

**Also, sadly, Kinsey has been experiencing a rather extended case of writer's block.  It happens, and sometimes, it's impossible to push through.  Despite this, Happy Holidays is tres important to both of us, and we have made the decision that until K's inspiration comes back, Jamie will do the writing, and Kins will stay involved by contributing ideas and reviewing/giving her stamp of approval to the final product.  Happy Holidays is still very much both of our baby.**

**But from this chapter on, you can only blame Jamie for any extensive sappiness/errors/slow updating.  She can take it.  Married women can do anything;)**

**Loves.**

--

_"Daddy!"_

Booth grinned broadly as the black-suited 7-year-old took a flying leap into his arms.  "Be careful, buddy.  I bet your mom worked hard to get you looking this sharp."

A harried-looking Rebecca came hurrying up behind his son.  "You don't know the half of it," she groused.  "Have you ever tried to pin a boutonnière on something that squirms this much?" 

He swung his son back to the floor.  "Sorry, Beck.  I told Angela a straight-jacket would be a better choice, but she insisted on the tux."

Rebecca gave a tired looking smile.  "But he does look good, doesn't he?"  She brushed a stray curl out of the cherubic face of the child.  "So do you," she added with an approving glance at Booth's similar ensemble.

"Thanks," he grinned, straightening his lapels and catching sight of his watch in the process.  "Wow, T-minus-10 minutes, huh?  I better go round up the crew.  Park, you know the routine, right?"

The little boy nodded emphatically.  "Walk down the aisle after Bones and before Angela, and don't lose the rings."

"That last part?  Very important."  Inwardly he cringed at the thought of a child being responsible for the tiniest, symbolically most important parts of the wedding ceremony…then cringed a second time at the remembrance that Parker would be serving a similar function at his own wedding in a few weeks.  At least he would be getting some practice.  "Stay with your mom for a few minutes, 'kay?  I'm going to round up the crew, then Bones will point you in the right direction.  I'll see you at the end of the aisle."

He whistled as he made his way through the back of the church.  Contrary to all Jack and Angela's worries, everything had been going smoothly today thus far.  It was a beautiful day.  The church looked just like the happy couple wanted it.  Now if they could just make it down the aisle without a pesky lawyer with a long-lost marriage certificate making an appearance…

"Hey, hey.  You just about ready to become a married man?" he asked, as he pushed the door open to the place Jack and his fellow groomsmen were waiting.

Hodgins' smile threatened to break his face off.  "My man, I've been ready for a long, long time now."  He reached into his pocket.  "I have something just for you, Booth.  As my best man."

Booth examined what Jack had put into his palm…a pin of some sort, elaborately decorated.  He was about to thank him for the gift.  Then it moved.  He yelped and restrained himself from just throwing the thing on the floor.  "What the hell _IS _that?"

"Living jewelry.  That's a scarab beetle hooked on there…it can walk around on your lapel just like a dog on a little leash.  Seemed appropriate, for an entomologist's wedding.  Don't you think?"

Seeley's eyes threatened to bug out of his head.  "Hodgins.  No.  For the love of God.  This is a wedding.  Not a bug convention."

For a moment, both Jack and Zack looked at him with identical disappointed, deadly serious expressions.  Then…they both burst into laughter.

"Oh, you are hilarious," he griped, throwing the grotesque adornment back at the groom-to-be.

"You should have seen your face when you thought you had to wear that thing!" Jack gasped out.

"Yeah, yeah.  Pull it together, bug man.  You're about to get married, and your first priority is harassing me?  Cripes.  C'mon.  Get into position.  I'm gonna get the girls and get you hitched, alright?"

"I love you, man," Hodgins said, wiping a tear of laughter from his cheek.  "Thanks."

"I'm not gonna forget this," Booth promised, but he was already pushing the suited men out the door and moving on to his next priority.  God.  How did he get involved with all these squints?  A few years ago, they were the bane of his existence.  Now, they made up a large majority of his friends, confidantes…and fiancées.  And still.  They were the bane of his existence.  Shaking his head, he knocked on the door of the bride room, wondering what challenge awaited him there.

--

Temperance Brennan was sick of being the logical one.  She never thought it would come to that point…she was used to other peoples' emotions getting the better of them, while she stayed calm and focused.  Unfortunately, her words of wisdom…which had worked so well with Booth, mere nights before…seemed to mean little to the woman cowering before her.

"Ange, come on," she tried, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder.  "This is what you've been wanting.  And now it can finally happen!  You can be happy!"

All she got in return were sniffles.

"You've worked so hard to get to this day.  And you look beautiful.  You're ready for this."

Finally, Angela tilted her head up to face her.  Sighing, Brennan pulled a tissue out of the nearby box and dabbed at the mascara that had started to run under her friend's eyes.

"I don't know what I want," the artist in the beautiful white dress sniffed.  "I mean, I do, but how do I know what I'll want in a month?  Or a year?  I change my mind a lot, Bren!  And this is marriage.  What if I turn around one day and am like 'Oh my God.  I have to have sex with this same person.  For the rest of my life'?  How can I be sure that right now, I'm making the right decision?"

Brennan looked at her watch nervously.  Five minutes until the ceremony was scheduled to start.  They didn't have time for this.  "Well, Ange, if that happens…then you try to work it out.  And if you can't…then you just get a divorce!"  She tried to sound upbeat, but for some reason it just caused another wail from Angela.

"I don't want to get a divorce!" she cried miserably, requiring a fresh stash of tissues.  Brennan obediently went to get them.

"You have to get married before you get a divorce," she mumbled under her breath before turning back to Angela.  She was about to make another attempt at getting her friend to pull herself together, when there was a knock at the door.  Great.  She opened it a crack.  Booth's face smiled back at her.

"Hey, beautiful.  You ladies about ready?"

She glanced back.  Cam was currently taking her turn trying to comfort the woman huddling in the corner.  Motioning for her fiancé to step out of the room, she joined him, carefully cracking the door behind her.  "Angela's having some sort of meltdown," she whispered.  "I knew that all the stress of planning was going to get to her.  I'm not sure she's going to be ready in five minutes."  If at all, reverberated in her head, but she didn't speak it out loud.

Booth looked alarmed.  "What's the problem?"

Smoothing back her already meticulously-placed hair, she sighed.  "I don't know.  Whatever the problem is when you people start to think too hard about weddings and marriage."  She didn't mean to say "you people" with quite so much frustration, but it came out anyway.

A knowing look crossed his face.  "Last-minute cold feet, huh?"

She crossed her arms.  "This has nothing to do with her feet, Booth," she said exasperatedly.

Large, comforting hands landed on her shoulders.  "You know what, Babe?  You and Cam go wait at the entrance.  I've got this one."

--

As soon as Booth looked through the cracked-open door and saw Angela there, he was struck with a sense of the familiar.  And he felt immediately confident about what she needed to hear.  Because it was what he had needed to hear.

He totally had this one.

"You've got some bad timing here, Ange," he said, sighing as he eased himself down on a bench beside her.  Well, maybe that part wasn't what she needed to hear.  She looked up at him resentfully.

"I had been thinking this whole time about everything I needed to do to prepare for the wedding.  Then, today, after my hair was done and my dress was on and all the details were in place…there was nothing else to think about.  Except being married.  Then I realized…I hadn't really thought that part through very much."

"And you're wondering if you had more time to think it through…if that would change anything."

Her eyes darted around the room, panicked.  "Maybe…I mean, what's another year, right?  We've waited this long.  Just one more year…just to be sure."

"You think your feelings for Jack will change in a year?"

She blinked hard.  "I don't think so.  But how do I know for sure?"

Booth shrugged, leaning back against the wall.  "That's the chance we take.  Is anybody ever one hundred percent ready to commit to another person?  Ever?  But…we do it.  Because at some point…we just have to trust what's inside of us."  It was true…he had taught Bones that very lesson, and she in turn had reminded him of it all those nights ago, when he had felt his own panic setting in.  Faith and trust.

Angela was still looking at him suspiciously, but her tears had dried.  "So it's a crapshoot?"

He shook his head.  "Nope.  The crapshoot would be waiting until you could read the future.  Marrying the man you love, who loves and respects you and would give anything for you?  That's just good sense."

A small smile took residence on her face.  "You just don't want to be a part of another failed wedding, right?"

Returning her smile, he sat forward again.  "Truth is, you and Hodgins…you're a big part of why Bones and I gave ourselves permission to be together.  Even when things got hard between the two of you…you made it seem easy.  It was…inspiring.  Especially for those of us who haven't always been so open about our feelings."  His face turned serious.  "But you don't get married for anybody else.  If you tell me right now that you don't think marrying Jack will make you happy…I'll sneak you out the back of the church.  But if you think the best chance is that it will make you happy…"  He held out his arm.  "…Let's have a wedding."

There was only a moment of hesitation where she studied him closely, seeming to assess whether or not he was being honest with her, or just trying to hurry her along.  And then…that trademark, 100-watt Angela Montenegro grin.

"I love him," she said, definitively.  "And I am happy.  That much I know for sure."  She took the proffered arm.  "Let's have a wedding."

Mentally, he heaved a sigh of relief.  Partly, for the reason that he truly didn't want to be a part of another failed wedding.  But more importantly, it was because, once again, love had won out over fear.  As, in Seeley Booth's world, it always should.

--

Brennan reminded herself to ask Booth later what magic words he used to get Angela beaming radiantly and ready to be married again, but the thought was quickly forgotten at…oh, t minus 12 SECONDS.  Angela joined her, Cam, and Parker, and her father at the head of the aisle.  Her best friend gave her a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of the hand.

"Everything alright?" Brennan asked cautiously.

"You betcha.  That's quite a man you've got, Sweetie," she answered, before nudging her ahead with a grin as the music began, and Cam and Zack began their trip down the aisle.  "You're next," she whispered.

Brennan couldn't help reading a double meaning behind her words.  She didn't have time to contemplate this, however.  In the time it took her to double-check Parker's hold on the rings, it was her turn to begin the long walk.

The last time she had done this (during the aborted Hodgins wedding), Booth had walked with her, and had chosen that moment to tell her the true reason her father chose to stay behind and be imprisoned, rather than leave her.  She had experienced such a surge of mixed emotions that she had barely been able to concentrate on what was happening in the ceremony.  Now, her eyes remained fixed firmly on those of her fiance's.  Is this what it would be like?, she wondered as she began the slow journey down the aisle.  Is this how it would feel, on the day they were married?  The motions were the same.  She came to the end of the aisle, where she hovered for just a second, until Booth gave her a small wink.  She then veered to the other side of the minister.  No, this was different…it was Ange and Jack's day.  On her wedding day…she wasn't entirely what she would feel.  But she knew it would be even more intense than this.

Despite his professed distaste for any suited affair, Parker grinned like a hyena as he walked down the aisle with his tiny pillow.  The kid loved attention, and was relishing in the smiles of the congregation.

Then…Angela, led by the man so disguised by his beard, that one could not even began to search for a resemblance.  Her best friend made one gorgeous bride…there was not even a trace of the tears that had been there minutes before the ceremony.  She looked at her husband-to-be with love in her eyes.  Brennan felt a tug at her heart.  Her friend was happy.

The minister said a prayer, spoke of God's role in this ceremony, and she felt a little disconnected.  It all seemed more meaningful now that she was more invested in the very concept of weddings and marriage…what she wanted to be a part of it, and what she didn't.  Listening to this part of the service, there was a part of her that rebelled a little.  Then…the vows.  The minister had Angela and Jack join hands.  Brennan wondered what her free-spirited friend would promise, and listened intently to the words.

"I take you to be my husband, my friend, my love, and my lifelong companion: to share my life with yours.  To build our dreams together, while allowing you to grow with your dreams; to support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness; to treat you with respect, love, and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together; and to give you all the love I can give my whole life long.  This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and eternally made new."

She couldn't see Angela's face as she made her vows.  But she saw each tear that welled up in Jack's eyes as he said the words, and was a little alarmed at her own emotional reaction.  Reaching up and dabbing at her eyes, she shot another quick glance over to Booth to see if noticed. 

Could she promise all those things to him, if someone asked her to?

He gave her a gentle smile, and her heart throbbed warmly.

Damn straight she could.

--

They sat at the wedding party table, watching a laughing Angela and Jack swing around the dance floor to Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am.  Well, Bones was watching.  He was watching Bones, who was sitting with Parker in her lap swaying back and forth.  She caught his eye and gave a curious smile.

"What?" she asked.

"You are the world's most gorgeous bridesmaid," he told her.

"Hey," came the indignant retort from Cam, down the table.

"Sorry," he cleared his throat, throwing an apologetic look her way before leaning in to whisper in Bones' ear.  "It's true though." 

She laughed lightly.  "Angela made a good choice in dresses this time," she said, shrugging back up the spaghetti strap of deep blue satin.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," he admonished, and she pacified him with a delicate, but lingering kiss.

"EW.  Not right above my head guys!  Yuck!" screeched Parker, as he wriggled out of Bones' arms, prompting amused chuckles from everyone remaining at the table.

"Won't he be happy when you are old married people who don't like to kiss anymore?" Cam teased.

"Romantic attraction can be maintained through marriage, as long as both members of a couple are willing to put adequate effort into…" 

He shut her up with another, longer kiss, before she started entertaining the table (and his son) which discussions about how senior citizens could keep the spice in their marriage.  Luckily, Parker was distracted.  The first dance had ended, and Angela's father had taken the stage and began a first, few familiar riffs.

"I love this song!" squealed the little boy.  He spun around excitedly.  "Bones, will you dance with me?"

Booth laughed.  "Smooth, son."  Horning in on his fiancée in order to dance to Sharp-Dressed Man.

"I'd love to," she smiled, taking his small hand and allowing Parker to practically drag her to the floor.  Booth watched contentedly as they wiggled and bounced together.  God, he loved them.

Cam slid over to the seat next to his.  "It was a good day, wasn't it?" she mused, also watching the spectacle on the dance floor, under the flashing disco ball.

"I love weddings," he agreed.

She smiled.  "I suppose that this one brings us a step even closer to our team being officially a family."

"We always were," he insisted, chuckling a little as Bones picked up Parker and dipped him back in dramatic fashion.  "It's just…becoming a little more obvious.  Bit by bit."

"For some of us more than others."  They were silent for a few moments, before Cam spoke again.  "Guess what, Seeley?"

"Hmm?"  Still admiring the view.

"That's your family, right over there.  You should go join them."

For a second he looked over at her, surprised.  Mostly because he had almost forgotten, in his reverie, that the bit of perfection in front of him was, indeed, within his reach.  He had spent so long convincing himself of the impossibility of it.  Bones and Parker.  If he ever needed evidence that miracles existed, it was right there.

"You're right," he announced, laughing in amazement at it.  He patted her on the shoulder before striding over like a man on a mission, to his family.

"I didn't want to be left out of the fun," he explained to his surprised dance partners, before he scooped up his son and sandwiched him between him and Bones, all of them laughing as they swayed to the music.  Over their shoulders, he saw Angela and Jack holding one another.  Angela caught his eye, and winked at him, lifting her ring finger of her left hand as if proving his words of wisdom worked.  Faith and trust.  "You're next," she mouthed to him.

He grinned, and held his family tighter.

If only he would be so lucky.

--

**A/N:  Fun fact...Ange and Jack's vows are the ones that Jamie used for her wedding!  Awhs!**

**Next up:  The very last in the Happy Holidays series (*sob*)...the Anniversary Edition!**


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